Earn upto £3,500 for 30 minutes work!!! 'Access to Learning Fund'

Lill111

So does this apply to OU students as well?

Oldernotwiser

Lill111 wrote: »

So does this apply to OU students as well?

http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/access-to-learning-fund.pdf

Finalv

robhammond wrote: »

Hi,

I'm until very recently was a manager of a University Advice Centre & also an Education & Welfare officer so you might be interested to know that there is FREE money available to quite a few students upto a maximum of £3,500 per academic year.



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Id love to apply for this... I'm a second year student stuck in the payday loan trap.... but I fear they will discount this debt. At current every time my student loans come in they are gone instantly... leaving me stuck to live.

amiehall

Finalv wrote: »

Id love to apply for this... I'm a second year student stuck in the payday loan trap.... but I fear they will discount this debt. At current every time my student loans come in they are gone instantly... leaving me stuck to live.

You need to make an appointment with someone from your unis financial support team. They can advise you if you're eligible for ALF. If not, they may offer you a loan to clear any payday debts that would have a much more reasonable interest rate. You should make an appointment to see someone right away.

Oliverclews

Im a first year student, I applied for ALF as im in £5000 of debt and didnt get enough student finance to cover my rent let alone anything else, and they awarded me £227 for the year..

AlternateMe

I'm a mature student and lone parent and my uni awarded me £800. I'm SO relieved as it really helps. Can you re-apply every academic year if you need to?

amiehall

AlternateMe wrote: »

I'm a mature student and lone parent and my uni awarded me £800. I'm SO relieved as it really helps. Can you re-apply every academic year if you need to?

Yes you can apply next year. Each years application is assessed separately.

00ec25

Oliverclews wrote: »

Im a first year student, I applied for ALF as im in £5000 of debt and didnt get enough student finance to cover my rent let alone anything else, and they awarded me £227 for the year..

and your point is what??
ALF (ie tax payers money) is strictly regulated and will only take account of certain types of debt. As a 1st year if your debt related to before you became a student then it will be ignored in all but very specific circumstances.
Taxpayers money is not going to be given to bail out someone who got into a "lifestyle" debt before or during the time they became a student

juanmanuelmarquez

Hi everyone,
Had a good day at work and came home today just to discover that my Access to Learning Fund has been declined! Really gutted and worried!:silenced:

I applied during first week of April, i phoned them up in May and they told me im too premature and there is a backlog as result ring back, after ringing so many weeks, its now end of July and found out i got nothing! Im in real need to money as i have been made redundant during feb time so only just got a part time at Dominos pizza and its not enough to pay the backlogged bills, i got an intended county court judgement for not paying the water bill last week and had to borrow money to pay that off.

Note: i am a part time student and this is my 2nd year, i have evening classes at the uni.

I really disappointed with the decision and would like to appeal, i have alot of valid arguments, as on the decision letter it says that household bills are not considered only study related costs i.e: books, printer, travel, childcare...but then what about electric bill? isnt this study related as the computer does not work on water or light, its not solar panneled???? i really am annoyed with the decision and waiting this long to get reply makes me very upset!:(

Does anyone know about the appeals process and how long it usually takes?

nimbo

hate to say it but I don't think that you will have a leg to stand on....

they are very strict about what the money can be used for, and they have stringent allowances of how much cash input a person can have to be eligible.

the fact that you are part time will count against you as there is an assumption that a student will work (as this goes for full time students this will be expected to be at a higher level for part time students), and also the time of year will suggest that most if not all of the funds will have been used.

At my university I don't know a single person who turned out to be eligible for it - including my self, and I had to pay all of my own fees - which were also not counted as a cost I could use the cash for.

Sorry about the bad news - and the appeals at my place takes 6 weeks - but don't count on them changing their minds, as I don't think that the leccie bill or water bill would be considered to be 'study related' they have computer rooms at the university....

aren't you entitled to any benefits? - and even of you weren't before at this time of year you should be...